NEWS & EVENTS

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Clockwise, from left: wild Holden Hurricane got its post-restoration debut; Best in Show Bentley on the Tour Classica; classics and visitors packed Royal Exhibition Hall, Melbourne

Holden concept steals Aussie show

The second RACV Motorclassica drew 16,000 visitors to Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Hall from 21-23 October. Star exhibits included the post-restoration debut of the 1969 Holden Hurricane concept, its first public outing for nearly 40 years.

Best in Show from the hotly contested concours was awarded to Gary McMillan’s Bentley Speed Six, first delivered to Oswald J Syme in ’27 with a Mulliner saloon body, but now sporting Vanden Plas Le Mans-style coachwork.

The show got off to a thunderous start, as the historic building reverberated to the sound of the 1987 Le Mans Porsche 962, on loan from the factory museum and steered into the venue by winning driver and Stuttgart hero Derek Bell. He was joined by fellow 24 Hours victor and Aussie racing great Vern Schuppan.

There were plenty of standout cars among the 110 entries for the Australian International Concours d’Elegance & Classic Motor Show – with a combined value of more than AU$100million (£65m). They ranged from the oldest Benz in Australia, an 1896 Velo, to an Alvis

TB21 Roadster, a Porsche 911RSR and a 1973 Citroën DS23 Pallas Prestige, one of seven Chapronbuilt cars and winner of the Modern European & British category.

But it was more than just a static display: some 78 cars took part in the Tour Classica from the Australian GP pitlane at Albert Park into central Melbourne, along a 6.9km route to the Exhibition Hall. The sights of cars such as a Lamborghini Miura SV, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and Facel Vega going toe-to-toe with traffic was a treat for spectators and drivers alike.

Classics may lose the MoT A consultation has begun over whether to scrap MoTs for pre-’60 cars. Greg Knight, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group, has welcomed the move: “Having an annual test for a car that may only travel 500 miles a year is an unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle.” The Government is seeking views on whether the exemption date should be earlier, and the test frequency is being reviewed for all ages – a move opposed by motoring organisations. Have your say at www. classicandsportscar.com/forums

14 Classic & Sports Car January 2012

Caption competition The wittiest suggestion to go with our archive photo will win a superb1:32-scale Revell slot-car of our choosing

A festive competition to go with our Christmas issue, but why is Father Christmas in a Volkswagen Golf cabriolet? Send your quips to Caption Competition (January) at the p8 address by 5 January or e-mail captioncomp.c&sc@ haynet.com. Please include your full postal address so we can send you your prize.

NOVEMBER’S COMPETITION Plenty of sexism for this shot of a special Lotus road car, but a fair number were politically correct. We liked Dave Massey’s: “My first day of valet parking, and what do I get?” and Jim Hepburn’s: “This is what happens when I rub my Seven’s bonnet.” We don’t normally reward smutty answers in this section, but on this occasion we couldn’t resist so our winner is Angus Roper, for: “Thanks for the lift, Mr Chapman. Now I know why you call it a Lotus Climax!”

BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST Goodwood drew a varied set of cars to Sussex on 6 November to mark five years of its Breakfast Club meetings. Classics on show spanned everything from a superb Ferrari Daytona (above) to a pair of Mercedes Unimogs, on hand as part of the all-wheel-drive theme.

EAU DE RÉTRO Rétromobile, the premier Parisian show, will focus on amphibious cars from 1-5 February. Stars will include a 1932 Comète, a 1942 Hydromobile and a 1937 Trippel SG6, along with more familiar machines such as the Amphicar (above). See www.retromobile.fr

BLACK BEAUTY WINS HILTON Top honours at the 10th Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance went to an ex-Le Mans 1937 BMW 328. People’s Choice at the 28 October6 November event in S Carolina, USA went to Charles Mistele’s 1936 Auburn 852 Speedster.

RICHARD GRAVES RIP Former Rolls-Royce and Jensen sales and marketing director Richard Graves (above, on right) passed away in October. Graves gave his final interview to C&SC’s Jon Pressnell shortly before he died; read it in full next month. Porsche design driver’s selection

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